


I’ll seek you out again in the next world

by sakuplumeria



Category: Saiyuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M, Modern Setting, Musicians, Photography, Post-Canon, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:33:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26679040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakuplumeria/pseuds/sakuplumeria
Summary: Drawn to an instrumental music recommended by YouTube, Goku came upon the composer/musician who might possibly be the reincarnation of Sanzo. With his portfolio as a photographer, Goku took the chance to reach and work things out, whether his hypothesis stands or not.
Relationships: Genjo Sanzo/Son Goku
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	1. A Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Saiyuki Gaiden's opening song, Sakura no Ki no Shita (Under the Cherry Blossom Tree) by KOKIA.

_If I’m reborn,_ _I’ll seek you out again in the next world  
_ _I’ll tell you how I feel, something I can’t tell you enough  
_ _Even if you don’t remember, I’m sure we’ll meet again_ _, under the cherry blossoms_

 _Eternity will go on, the cherry blossoms will bloom and scatter  
_ _I want to make that person who laughs like the sun remember_

* * *

In his two-bedroom apartment, Goku was sitting on the rug in the living room, his back leaning to his sofa bed. A hand over the mouse of his laptop on the coffee table, scrolling through YouTube channels to pass the time. He just passed an incredibly hectic season of photo shooting, his last job finished two weeks prior. Usually, Goku would find himself jobless for a month or two and while he believed it’s good for himself to rest, he just couldn’t stand being idle for too long.

_Time flies real quick_ , he thought.

For the first dozens of years without his companions, Goku had stayed in the temple. But then, his curiosity got the better of him and he started to travel—and live— around the world. And after considering his unique circumstances, Goku decided to move and change jobs periodically, but he never changed his name. Goku was indeed a handy name almost everywhere at all times.

For the past 50 years, Goku had been a photographer. He was reluctant at first, but excitement never ceased once he grasped the concept. He started with analog cameras, and so even though he was good with the more advanced digital cameras as well, analog cameras had always been his favorite. Thus, becoming his unique business value. He wholeheartedly liked the job because he could capture moments, embracing the changing lives of people all around the world while he himself didn’t age much. All the people that he asked guessed that he was in his late 20s or early 30s, mostly the first than the latter.

And Goku really explored the world, or maybe half of it by then, living here and there. He had been living in the northern part of the world until two centuries ago, and he loved the changes he felt once he travelled to explore the equator. For the last 5 years, Goku had been living in Singapore, though he occasionally accepted jobs from other countries since he owned some studios in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, where he lived before settling in Singapore.

Goku also maintained a job for quite a long period of time, usually for nearly a hundred years. He was once a gardener, a transporter, a chef, a painter, and some others before becoming a photographer. However, he constantly changed _his_ business—he prefered to build his own rather to work for someone else— in a much shorter time, like starting Capturing Moments Photography over five years ago, after running Shared Memories Photo Agency for fifteen years in Malaysia.

Through hard experiences in the past, he learned that maintaining an identity and acquaintance for a longer time was hard as his body remained the same. So yes, sociable as he was, Goku learned to keep his distance with other people. Not becoming too close and too attached. _Muichi motsu_. He never imagined that the teaching to hold nothing had to become a way of living for him. Luckily, being a photographer had its own way to be close yet distanced with the clients. That way, Goku could still channel his never ending energy and be all too friendly with his clients yet keeping a distance at the same time. It was becoming almost too easy to break the relationship he had, saying that he would move to another country.

Remembering those blurry years made Goku kind of emotionless. He definitely had happy times, but he never had any close friends because of the circumstances, and he longed for a real company. And Sanzo?

Oh, Goku tried his very best to find the reincarnation of Sanzo in the early days. Skipping a beat each time he found a blond, or violet eyes, or droopy eyes, but he never found all the characteristics combined in one person. And at some point, he realized it was astonishingly hard and painful to do so, always expecting and never finding. He sometimes thought that Sanzo might have reincarnated a couple of times but the time or place might not be right. Until one day, hundreds of years ago, he decided to settle his feelings, to stop searching and start preparing himself for when the time comes.

 _Time flies real quick_ , he thought once more.

From the many recommended videos brought by YouTube, a video caught his attention. The cover was black and it was titled " _I'll seek you out again in the next world_.” Curious, Goku clicked. And after knowing the whole video is black, Goku leaned back to his sofa bed and closed his eyes. It was instrumental music. Not his first choice of music, but it was still good. Some deep breaths and Goku came back to the laptop, shifting to his other tab as he continued his browsing.

Three minutes had passed and Goku couldn’t concentrate because of the instrumental music he listened to. Goku wondered why he was so drawn to the music. He could not really tell, but the song was like _calling_ to him. The music was not lively, nor was it sad. It was not catchy, but it was definitely not boring. If he could describe it in a word, he could feel the _longing_ in it.

Goku went back to his YouTube tab and searched for the channel which he hoped would link him with the composer. And there it was, complete with the _Goku Music Production_ website and _@gokumusic_sg_ Instagram profile. Goku raised an eyebrow. He took his phone and threw his body onto his sofa bed. He opened his Instagram app and within 30 seconds he was looking at the mentioned profile. No stories and highlights. All of the feed posts were black videos, to which he assumed link back to the black instrumental music videos in the Youtube Channel. He went to the tagged post section. Presented by lots of pictures of a certain individual, Goku’s body abruptly sat up and stiffened, both eyes went wide.

All over the photos, was the same pale blond, long haired with a ponytail, and... almost too familiar droopy eyes. He could not figure out precisely, but he could swear those eyes were purple. Goku swallowed and he scrolled through the photos. He saw no pattern in the people this _Goku_ person hung out with, all different people from probably different concerts. _Still alone in your world huh_ , Goku smirked as his body softened. He also did not miss the places of the tagged photos, most of them in Singapore while a few in Japan and Vienna.

 _Wait, Singapore? He… might actually live here_. With a pounding heart Goku scrolled back up to find the email.

Goku had become very used to this. Contacting the person he wanted to meet, saying he’s a photographer and very interested to take pictures, whether to build a portfolio or just to help. It was fairly easy with Goku’s astounding portfolio. The 143K followers of @capturingmomentsphotography proved Goku’s effort in his work. He also worked with a wide range of requests, from extreme nature to family shots, vintage analogs to clear underwater styles, street gangsters to celebrity photos. Goku was hardly turned down by anyone when he requested to take pictures, moreover blooming artists who only had followers below 10K. He really hoped it would also go well with this Goku Music Production which only had just above 1K of Instagram followers.

Clicking the send button, Goku dropped his body to the sofa bed.

He stared at the ceiling for some time, and then one of his hands rose, as if trying to grasp something. “Is it really you, Sanzo?” came with a whimpering voice. How many years had he waited? Hundreds, or probably more than a thousand years, he lost count already. And even though Goku was always preparing himself to meet a reincarnated Sanzo, he was still nervous to actually stumble upon someone-who-potentially-might-be Sanzo. Pale and blond and distinct droopy eyes. Was it really him?

Goku decided that it would be a very nice meeting, whether _Goku_ was Sanzo’s reincarnation or not. One thing that bothered Goku was that this someone-who-potentially-might-be-Sanzo’s name was also _Goku_. It would be an interesting encounter indeed, Goku giggled.

With a big smile, Goku stood up and went for dinner.


	2. The Encounter

Three days later, Goku had just finished washing his plate from lunch when the bell to his apartment rang. As he hastily dried his hands, Goku could feel his own thumping heartbeats getting louder. The bell rang the second time. “Comin’!” Goku exclaimed. A few steps brought him to the door. _Inhale, exhale, just be calm_ , Goku said to himself and opened the door.

A gasp escaped Goku’s mouth.

The someone-who-potentially-might-be-Sanzo, or _Goku_ according to the email signature, looked down at him with piercing now-clearly-as-the-sky _violet_ droopy eyes, scowl in place. Even though Goku gained height over the years, _Goku_ was still half a head taller. Butterflies filled Goku’s belly. He had accustomed himself with the ponytailed _Goku_ , and yet the person in front of him had nice clean short hair, reminding Goku of the first time Sanzo had come to the prison on top of Mount Gogyou. And _Goku_ definitely looked so much younger with the short hair, an italian sleeve rolled white shirt, and black formal pants. Goku also could not miss the delicate pale skin under the two undone buttons on top of the shirt. Goku had guessed _Goku_ was in his 30s with the ponytails but the man in front of him could not be older than 28. Goku swallowed.

 _Goku_ was the one who reached out his hand first. “Goku,” a deep voice followed.

The voice sounded irritated, but to Goku it sounded so sexy it went straight to his groin. “Ah y-yeah, I’m Goku,” Goku shook _Goku_ ’s hand clumsily when he realized that _Goku_ was introducing himself, “I mean, ’m Goku too,” came out with a sheepish laugh.

After the awkward handshake that took longer than usual, _Goku_ pulled his hands and let himself in the room. Goku snapped from his trance and realized that _Goku_ was not bringing anything with him. “Um, ya don’t bring any instruments with ya?”

 _Goku_ raised a harmonica that he fetched from his pocket without looking back, “I did. You told me to bring any instruments I want. This is the easiest to bring.” Goku closed the door behind him, “I see, yeah, guess that would do.”

 _Goku_ looked around the apartment. _A two-bedroom apartment judging by the two doors, but it didn’t seem like he sleeps in either room_ , _Goku_ thought after inspecting the sofa bed on his left near the entrance, complete with the pillows and a folded blanket. He also found a coffee table in front of the sofa bed, some more distance and there were some cluttered racks full of boxes, frames, and bits of everything in the living room. They looked all well-kept and there were indications of efforts to store things neatly, but it was still messy. The kitchen part on his right looked so much tidier.

Goku walked past him and went into the bigger room out of the two, “Come in,” he gestured to _Goku_ to follow.

Inside the room were several lamps and a lighting set, but it was already bright without any of them on. _Goku_ had no idea what material was used for the walls, but it made the sunlight shine at every angle of the small studio perfectly. There were several sections of the studio that gave different vibes and _Goku_ was astonished at how well the room was designed.

Goku was preparing his cameras while _Goku_ roamed around the small studio. “I listened to your music, _I’ll seek you out again in the next world_ , is it? It’s real nice.”

“Thanks,” _Goku_ ’s answer was short.

“I listened your other songs as well, but that’s my favorite. Somehow I felt… a _longing_ there,” Goku continued.

By that comment, _Goku_ stopped. “Pretty sharp, aren’t you?” he gave Goku an unusual appraising look, “Other people told me it’s like a sentimental sad song or beautiful song, but no one’s ever felt the _longing_ ness.”

Hearing Sanzo’s voice in the man more and more gave more warmth below Goku’s belly. _Shit, shouldna have chat him, or at least not until the work is done_ , Goku decided. “Okay, let’s start then,” Goku said. Please stand here.” _Goku_ stood at the pointed spot, then he turned his head to Goku and gave a blank expression, “And how should I do this?”

After a few minutes, Goku started to think that this was not as easy as he thought. He had to give detailed instructions to _Goku_ each time he took pictures from an angle. _Goku_ was really awkward and stiff, and at some point Goku had to _move_ _Goku_ himself, which made it worse for his self control. The touches were light but they sent waves directly to his groin. He could feel the toned muscles of that slim body beneath his fingers. It really felt like the real Sanzo. And Goku had to hide his face a couple of times to hide his blush.

The photoshoot session surely took a lot longer than Goku had thought. After three full hours of directing and taking pictures, with only a few breaks to drink and toilets, Goku decided that this would be the last group of pictures he would take. Soon after directing, Goku went to his position and readied himself to shoot.

The sunlight was perfect on _Goku_ 's face and harmonica he’s pretending to play. The serene face looked so tantalizing and Goku found himself stunned by the view. Furrows started to emerge on _Goku_ ’s face and Goku was taken aback by the muffled “Is it done already?”

 _Oops!_ Goku quickly started to take pictures.

“It’s a wrap!” Goku beamed after taking a look at the pictures he took.

“Damn, being a model is worse than I thought,” _Goku_ scowled.

Goku chuckled, “Yeah, sure is.” Goku put out his tools, led _Goku_ towards the kitchen and went to the fridge. “Want one?” he handed a can of beer. _Goku_ immediately took the can and opened it. “But to be honest, it’s pretty good for your first try. You look fantastic,” Goku opened his own beer. _Goku_ raised one of his eyebrows.

“...in the pictures,” Goku added abruptly.“Ya hungry?” Goku hoped he did not ruin his first impression. _Goku_ settled on one of the barstools at the slim kitchen bar which divides the living room and the kitchen, “Starving.”

 _At least he has appetite_ , Goku thought. “Okay, I’ll order a pizza, I know a very good one nearby,” Goku took his phone while _Goku_ finished his beer. No more than 15 minutes later the pizza came. Goku plopped himself onto the barstool beside _Goku_ and opened the pizza box, “So, how long have ya been producin’ music?”

 _Goku_ took a slice of pizza, “I started learning piano when I was little. In junior high school, I tried other instruments and yeah, I guess I decided to be a musician at that time.” Goku swallowed his pizza, “Cool! Where do you get the inspiration?”

 _Goku_ munched and swallowed before answering, “I don’t know. They just came. Sometimes it pours hard like the waterfall, like years ago. It’s getting dry nowadays, and damn I have nothing to do when there are no inspirations.”

“Yeah, in photography we have our high seasons and low seasons as well, in fact I usually have nothin’ to do in these comin’ months,” Goku felt the conversation was getting along well.

“How about you? Why did you choose to be a photographer?” _Goku_ asked while taking another slice of pizza.

Goku did not see that coming. He munched his pizza and swallowed, “Um, I’ve always been a fan to life itself. Ya know, when ya take pictures of someone, ya can feel ‘em, from their expressions, their movements, their laughters. Those kinda things bring me joy.” Goku smiled widely and scratched the back of his head.

“Hmph, figures as much. Your pictures are really something,” a smirk forming in _Goku_ ’s face.

“Really? You like them?” Goku asked with glittering wide eyes. _Goku_ rolled his eyes, “Stupid. I wouldn’t agree to you taking pictures of me if I don’t, now would I?” Goku suddenly felt his chest tightened and his face warm, not by the compliment but because of the lips when it pronounced the word _stupid._

“Couldna have put it in a better way, San-” and Goku immediately shut his mouth when he realized. His already perplexed mind went blank and dizzy.

But _Goku_ only raised an eyebrow at the remark, “Huh? How do you know my real name?”

Goku was silent for a moment when he processed the latest reply. “Huh?” Goku was the shocked one now.

 _Goku_ sighed. “Shan,” he corrected, “Genjo’s the real name, and you can call me Gen. It’s weird you calling me Goku when your name’s Goku too.”

Goku couldn’t believe it. _Shan Genjo, even the name’s way too similar_. Goku was more convinced now that Gen was really the reincarnation of Sanzo. “Right... Gen it is! Yeah, it’s kinda weird to call ya with my own name,” Goku let out a small laugh. “So, why Goku?”

Gen shifted to rest his chin on his hand and stared at nowhere in particular. “Hmm, I don’t know. Guessed I was drawn to the name. I always loved the name since I was little and I thought I could use it as my ‘pen name’, you know?”

Goku’s chest twisted. Does Sanzo actually remember him? Unconsciously, maybe?

Before Goku could answer, Gen started another topic. “By the way, you were using analog cameras back then,” Gen took another slice of pizza.

Goku snapped back from his trance. “Oh yes, I looove analog cameras. Started with them,” Goku grinned proudly.

“So… you’ll print them in… what you call it? A darkroom?”

“Yeah, my darkroom’s there,” Goku pointed at the door of the other bedroom.

Gen's eyes followed the direction of the finger. “Cool, I’ve always been interested to see a real one. It’s really rare these days.”

“Damn yeah, that’s why I created one myself. Ya wanna see when I print your pictures?”

“Sure.”

“Cool, I don’t have any other jobs right now so probably I will print ‘em tomorrow.”

“Cool,” Gen finished his pizza. So was Goku.

“Gen..” “Goku,” they simultaneously said.

“Uh, what is it Gen?” Goku quickly asked.

“I think it’s better for me to go home, but what did you wanna say?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Goku replied hurriedly. Then, he let out his breath, “Yeah. It’s really nice to meet ya, not just as a model I mean, in person too.”

“Likewise,” a smile formed.

The smile was not big and rather more like a smirk, but Goku just knew it was a real genuine smile, and this time Goku felt a forming bulge inside his shorts. Quickly he hopped from his barstool and headed to the front door. After washing his hands, Gen followed. And suddenly their gaze locked. Feeling Gen’s piercing gaze, Goku found himself fluttering away.

“See you tomorrow then,” Gen said casually.

“Y-yeah, s-see ya tomorrow,” Goku replied.

Gen waved lazily as he walked the hallway. Goku watched him walk and punch the lift button at the end of the hallway. Gen turned his face towards the hallway he just walked through. Seeing Goku still there, he raised an arm. Goku awkwardly raised his hand and then quickly got back inside his room, shutting the door behind him. He breathed frantically and he felt his heartbeat thumping the loudest in years.

How long had it been? How many years had he waited? This Sanzo, or Gen, was in some ways very different from Sanzo. He was more sociable, which might be caused by his profession or maybe his current life experience. He also had a more ‘positive’ aura even though he still had that scowl a lot. Gen was also in some ways very Sanzo. The shining golden hair and those damn piercing violet droopy eyes were still sharp as hell. All about Gen made Goku’s stomach twist.

How the hell will he face Gen tomorrow?


	3. A Growing Familiarity

Goku shot up by the door bell. Even though a natural heavy sleeper and it had been centuries, the journey to the west somehow made Goku cautious in his sleep. He had lost the touch though, not fully alert once his eyes were open like he used to. He felt a bit dizzy and blurry. After a bit of stretching and yawning, he focused to look at his digital clock nearby.

06:58

Confused expression in face, Goku rubbed his eyes and tried to focus a bit more. Still 06:58. Who could possibly look for him at this hour?

The bell rang the second time. Goku got up from his sofa bed and opened the door-

and there _he_ was.

Looked quite irritated, Gen stood in front of the apartment with his backpack slumped on one of his shoulders. He was wearing a plain long sleeved, china collared t-shirt and khaki shorts.

 _Shit_. The morning wood in Goku’s pants was now fully hard, one he clearly couldn’t hide from Gen. And Gen was looking _down_ at him, with the bulge obviously in sight.

“Hey,” as if nothing happened, Gen passed Goku and let himself come inside the all too homey apartment. “H-hey,” Goku closed the door and turned, only then aware of Gen’s large backpack _and_ a sleeping bag sack he just dropped. “What are those?”

“My laptop,” Gen answered while pulling out his 15 inches laptop and smoothly placing it on the coffee table. He also pulled out his enormous headphones and placed it next to his laptop. He stopped to look at the sofa bed, which was an obvious currently-used bed. “So you _do_ sleep here,” he smirked before settling down on the rug just beside the sofa bed and turning on his laptop. Goku felt warmth creeping up his face, but the confusion still left him speechless.

“I’ll be here for days, if not longer,” Gen answered as if hearing the unspoken question, “It came, the inspiration. I have to finish this before it’s gone.”

That explained some things and Goku regained his composure. “I see. Why here, though?” He walked to the fridge, “Milk?”

“I don’t wanna miss the darkroom. You’ll be printing today, right?” Gen said without looking, “...and yeah, sure.”

Goku couldn’t really explain. There was this serenity and familiarity. That even though they just met the day before, Gen acted like they had known each other for a long time. Goku poured the milk in two glasses and placed one on the coffee table while he settled himself beside Gen, his own glass of milk in hand. “Ya could just tell me and I can postpone the printin’, though.”

Gen stilled for a second, “It didn’t occur to me,” and he reached out for the milk.

But Gen did not plan to leave either, it seemed. He just stayed there, drank the milk, put on his headphones and started working. Goku grinned. He could not have the morning in a better way.

After finishing his own milk, Goku brought both empty glasses, washed them quickly and settled back beside Gen, a glass of water in hand. “Whoa, that’s a lot!” Goku exclaimed looking at the colorful sound waves at Gen’s mixing application.

“Yeah, couldn’t fucking sleep last night. After I finished recording all these shits I still can’t sleep, so I thought I’ll just make my way here and continue till I drop. Now I need to concentrate. If you have questions just write them down and I’ll answer later,” Gen answered emphatically.

Goku really liked watching this serious side of Gen. Bossy and did things as he likes, and it reminded him of Sanzo. He smiled excitedly, but it quickly faded when the drowsiness returned. “Kay, ‘m gonna continue my sleep then. Ya know where the water and toilet are.” Goku yawned as he laid himself back on the sofa bed.

Half an hour passed, and Goku realized he could not possibly sleep. Not with Gen there so close, too close to him. He turned his body to face Gen. Blond soft hair gleamed in the quiet dim room and Goku had to restrain himself from touching his sun. _This is bad_. Goku shut his eyes.

“Can’t sleep?” Once again Gen read his mind. Goku was startled by the remark, “Y-yeah, hard ta get back ta sleep once ya wake up, ya know?”

Yeah, Goku decided to just wake up, take a bath, and start printing.

He got up, took his glass and went to fill it with more water. While he gulped the refreshment behind the kitchen bar, he saw Gen grabbing something from his bag, eyes still focused on the laptop. A small carton box and something like a thick... powerbank? But when Gen opened up the ‘powerbank’ and pulled out a thinner cylinder, Goku realized it was actually an e-cigarette. IQOS, Goku made out with his superhuman eyesight.

Gen took out a _Marlboro_ heatstick and started to smoke. The view was too appealing and the bulge in Goku’s pants suddenly returned. Goku turned his gaze away and hurriedly went into the bathroom to take a bath, _and probably jerked himself off_.

  
  


Shirtless Goku stepped out of the bathroom and grabbed a casual v-neck t-shirt from a rattan basket. He slipped on his cloth and opened up the door to the studio. The sun had risen and the way the studio room was designed made the light shine through the small apartment perfectly, even without any lights on. Goku breathed deeply as he welcomed the bright new day.

As he turned back to face his living room, he found the flawless poised Gen. Sitting before his laptop with enormous headphones, e-cigarette in hand and smoke elegantly escaping his tantalizing mouth. The moment and lighting was too perfect to be missed and Goku would not let this chance slip away. Briskly he took his analog camera and easily found the perfect angle.

_Snap, snap, snap!_

Goku stood up and carefully took out the film. “What’d you do that for? Another photoshoot session?” Gen took off his headphones and shook his head, alleviating his stiff hair. “Naah, like I said, I love capturing moments, and ya were just perfect,” Goku smiled widely before adding quickly, “in the morning light.” “ _Tch_ , yesterday’s fantastic, today’s perfect,” Gen took out his finished heat stick and threw it into the bin.

Soon after, they finished their breakfast. While Gen voluntarily washed the dishes, Goku started lining up cameras on the bar table in front of the darkroom. Gen took a brief look, not wanting to miss a thing. _Those cameras were the ones he used yesterday_ , he recalled. Goku took two film rolls that he had developed before. “Hey Gen, ‘m gonna use the darkroom now.” “A minute,” Gen finished his task, dried his hands and followed Goku towards the darkroom.

It was certainly dark, all the more compared to the morning blaze outside. Goku had turned the redish safelights on, yet Gen had to wait a couple of seconds to adjust his eyesight and spot Goku. He walked slowly towards the shorter man and saw what he knew as an enlarger. Goku turned the enlarger on and now Gen could see the form of himself playing, _or pretended to_ , the harmonica. The angle was indeed perfect and he was decidedly satisfied with the photo. “This is an enlarger,” Gen could somehow imagine the big smile in Goku’s face when he started the explanation. Gen moved closer and suddenly his body practically touched Goku’s. Goku was not prepared for the contact and he continued shakily, “a-an’ this is how we m-make the photo focused.” Goku did something with the focus finder and the picture became clearer. “Mhmm,” Gen voiced out his comprehension.

“Kay, after it’s enlarged, next step is we develop the photo,” Goku turned off the enlarger and took the sheet. They moved to the table with trays. Goku stood in front of the first tray from the left and Gen took his spot on Goku’s right side. Goku gently slipped the sheet in the clear liquid, grabbed a tongs to hold the sheet in place and started to shake the tray with the same care. “Now we’re gonna develop the photo. We shake this real carefully.” Goku shifted his view to his right and within the dim light, Goku could look at Gen’s attentive face. Once again Goku admired the serious face, somehow it made him at peace. He smiled and returned his attention to the not-so-blank-anymore sheet.

Carefully Goku moved the sheet to the next tray, which was quite troublesome because Gen didn’t budge. Goku’s elbow had to bump the taller man’s stomach but Gen still did not budge. “Hey, can I try those?” Gen reached out his hand. “U-uh, ‘course,” Goku gave the tongs and moved instead to stand at Gen’s right side. Gen was very awkward with the shaking and Goku had to hold his hands to show the way. Their shaking became smoother and in a moment they established a steady rhythm. “That’s it, keep shakin’ like that. Don’t over shake and spill the liquid, kay? The liquid’s dangerous,” Goku slowly let go of the thin hand. As soon as he let go, Gen lost the rhythm and he shook too hard. Quite an amount of liquid spilled onto Gen and Goku panicked, “Oh shit! Don’t move!” Goku quickly and carefully moved the half developed sheet to a dry tray, took Gen’s hand and led him towards the bathroom.

Having spilled many times before, Goku inspected the spill and he unfortunately found it spilled over Gen’s shorts. “Open your shorts, I need to wash your skin first,” Goku said firmly.

“I don’t wear any underwear,” Gen’s reply was short.

Goku’s face suddenly felt too warm, “What?”

Gen scowled, “It’s exactly as I said. I was in a rush, remember?”

Goku made a difficult face, fighting to focus on the matter in hand over his wandering fantasies.

“‘kay, ‘m gonna leave ya ta wash yourself then. Wash three times, or, five times or, the more the better.”

“And.. what should I do with the shorts? I don’t bring spares either.” Gen asked. Goku made a troubled face, which Gen unexpectedly found really cute.

Gen literally saw a lightbulb appear above Goku’s head when the wide smile appeared. “Right! I can borrow ya one of mine, ‘ll hang it at the knob outside, kay?”

One end of Gen’s lips made a curve. “Okay, thanks.”

Goku closed the bathroom door, grabbed one of his shorts and hung it up on the knob. Upon hearing water spraying inside the bathroom, he leaned his back against the nearest wall and let out a small laugh. It had not been 24 hours since their first encounter yet so many things had happened. He wondered whether the surprises would continue, and he really wished they would. Goku exhaled a deep breath. Afterwards, he went to the kitchen, took a dishcloth and went back to the darkroom to tidy the rest of the spill.

Ten minutes later, they were both sitting at the kitchen bar. Gen looked down at the glass of water in hand. To Goku’s surprise, Gen looked gloomy and his frown showed distress. “Sorry, I was careless,” Gen apologized. Goku’s eyes went wide, obviously he did not see that coming. Another contrast indeed. Not unpleasant, though.

“Nah, don’t worry, did that too in my first try,” Goku answered with a sheepish smile. And he was so relieved seeing the frown loosen up.

“By the way, are the shorts okay?” Even though Gen was not as boney as Sanzo, he was still a bit skinny for his height. Gen gulped his water and put the glass down, “A bit loose, but it’ll do. I can fetch mine later…” He paused before adding, “...or even now, if you want.”

Goku’s eyes went wide again, “Right…” a serious face now in place, “Where do ya live actually?”

Gen jerked his thumb, “Cattleya Tower, 10th floor.” Goku gaped.

“What? Ya live here too?” Their apartment towers were named after Orchid flowers. Goku’ was on the 8th floor of Dendrobium Tower. Now it made more sense to Goku. How Gen got to his apartment so early in the morning and was not afraid of staying there. “No wonder.”

Gen smirked, “Yeah, wanna come?”

A smug smile painted Goku’s face, “Well it’s not like I have somethin’ else to do. We can continue ta print later.”

“Yeah, that’ll be great,” but after saying that, Gen’s face suddenly went pale and his body falling down from the stool. Luckily, Goku’s reflexes had not worn out and he easily caught Gen mid air. “Hey, Gen, ya okay?” came the worried voice.

One of Gen’s eyes opened tiredly, “My bad, fucking weak body. Give me an hour and I’ll be better,” and with that he drifted back to sleep.

By the reaction, Goku concluded that the particular event did not happen for the first time. _Such a careless guy, no wonder he doesn’t have many friends,_ Goku thought while carrying Gen to the living room. Sanzo was way more reluctant in receiving help but Gen was not, and Goku was happy with this. He could freely help Gen without the overt rejection he always got, not that Sanzo rejected his help though.

Gen was already in deep sleep when Goku settled him in the sofa bed, his breaths deep and stable. A scowl nested on his face, yet it still brought peace to Goku’s heart. His hair kind of messy, yet it still shone brilliantly in Goku’s eyes. Goku gathered his courage to slowly touch the soft blond hair. It was as soft as Goku imagined and his heart beamed with happiness. But then, Gen unexpectedly let out a soft moan from the light pressure. It headed directly towards Goku’s groin and suddenly the feeling of _longing_ surged through his blood. Goku’s heart thumped loudly and he could not control himself from pressing a light kiss on Gen’s lips. Oh, the lips were as tender and soft as he remembered. But as much as he desired, Goku did not want Gen to wake up, so he pulled away and he had to avoid looking at Gen to calm himself down.

When at last Goku decided to look up again, he gasped. He could not believe what he saw, a genuine _smile_ on Gen's face. His heart melted by the tranquil scene in front of his eyes. And a couple of seconds later, the clouds decided to go away as sunlight brightened the scene noticeably.

For the second time that day, guided by his photographer instinct, Goku retrieved his camera.


	4. A Memento

The heat from the sun was achingly burning.

Bullets blasted from a Smith and Wesson gun in his left hand. Bang! Bang! Bang! Dead bodies fell one after another. He was short of breath and he could feel the sweat dampen his heavy robes. Just as he reloaded the gun, something screeched from behind. He knew from the sound that the pursuer was too close to be avoided completely so he turned to brace the attack, but suddenly a kick from the side got his pursuer flying quite far. It’s _him,_ the boy with the yellow cape. “Hmph, serve ya right!” he knew the boy was sticking his tongue out. He never saw the face of this boy, or even figured out the hair color, but the incomplete imagination of the tongue and smile always found their way to warm his heart.

His body was starting to relax and the boy was slowly turning to him when suddenly a lot of blood gushed out of the boy. He could not decide who or what had struck him, but now the boy was bleeding heavily. Their surroundings became darker and darker.

The boy was lying down on his lap, the yellow cape torned and turned almost completely red. His own white robes turned crimson and he found his hands full of blood, yet he did not feel any pain, so the blood must have been the boy’s. His heart was beating frantically and his tremored hands tried to shake the boy up. Panic and anger bottled up inside him, but there was another thing he did not want to admit. _Fear._ He jerked his head up and cried out the nameless boy.

Gen jolted up violently, sweating and panting heavily. The dream had haunted him _again._

After some time, Gen slowly laid himself back and put a hand on his forehead. He shut his eyes and tried to breathe deeper. Several dreams had haunted him since he was little. The particular dream he just had was the most intense, and lately it had been haunting him more frequently. Some other times, he would dream glimpses of a very long journey with three other people—one was definitely the boy with the yellow cape. There were also dreams which showed himself living in the Buddhist monastery. The most annoying dream was about him travelling down a very high mountain with the boy following after him, shouting his name again and again. He knew it was the boy with the yellow cape, only younger.

Despite the recognition, he could not really picture the boy’s face, or the others’ as a matter of fact. He could not even recognize his own face, nor his own hair color. He could not remember the names either, even though they were always shouting each other’s names.

Gen sighed and opened his eyes. Once he became fully conscious, he realized that he was not in his own apartment even though the layout was the same. He looked around and found a digital clock nearby.

16:23.

_Shit,_ Gen remembered that he had fallen asleep in Goku’s room, right after the spilling incident. It was before 11 in the morning, so he had slept for over 5 hours. It was quite surprising because he had never slept that long when he was not in his own room. Was it because the apartment had the same layout or was it because Goku was a very welcoming person that he felt homey already, he wondered.

A mumble came up from his side. Gen turned his body and found Goku on the rug, also sleeping. He had moved the coffee table further to create quite a wide space for himself to settle. Goku’s sleeping face was incredibly cute and was he really drooling? _Such a kid,_ Gen smirked. He thought he could use this chance to look closely at the person he met only yesterday. Gen was observant and he always carefully assessed people before connecting deeper. He only considered a handful as his friends, and only three other men he considered his closest.

Two of them were brothers with opposite personalities, a red haired and a white haired. The red haired was a traveling vlogger and his older brother was once a racer. After an incident, the older brother joined the younger one as both a cameraman and a driver. They travelled with a brunette whom Gen assumed to be the red haired’s friend with benefits—and he would not be surprised if they turned out to be an actual couple. The brunette was a sociocultural researcher and a poet, publishing books of poems about places and cultures they encountered. Gen became close with them from travelling together for a short period of time, and until now, they still exchanged emails and calls, _and_ books and music. Gen rather enjoyed his close friends’ journey from the poems, rather than the aggravating vlogs on YouTube. His first encounter with these guys was in Japan years ago. And it was a bizarre one, Gen recalled.

He was drinking in a bar after finishing a collaboration concert which took him four months of practice on the spot. He still got a month or two before starting a new term— _and also his last_ —of his music composing study in Vienna. And in the bar he met the three travellers who just landed in Japan the week before. Out of nowhere, the red haired teased him to travel with the company across Japan, saying he should not waste his youth and his time in the lovely country. To his own surprise, Gen actually said yes to the absurd invitation. He decided afterwards that it was probably because of the sake. And so he hopped in the group, traveled across Japan for a damn full month. The teases from the red haired were awfully annoying, the unreadable brunette and the awfully quiet white haired also got into his nerves sometimes, but during the journey, Gen strangely found himself very comfortable with the companion.

Almost as comfortable as with the charming brunette currently sleeping on the rug at his side.

His eyes caught the golden diadem in Goku's hair. He was quite surprised that he just realized the unusual ornament now since it was something that really stood out. In a strange way, he felt too familiar with the golden diadem, and he just knew that it _was supposed_ to be there. Gen slid himself down and reached out for the golden diadem, and he told himself he must be imagining things when he saw the diadem glow under his hand. His hand then unconsciously moved to ruffle Goku’s hair, where Goku adjusted himself and offered his head all too compliantly to his touch. Gen was startled by the reaction and abruptly pulled his hand.

_What was I doing?_ Gen shook his head and decided to repress the baffling situation. He decided to just continue his work, so he stood up, took his laptop and headphones and settled himself at the kitchen bar, to work.

Half an hour later, Goku woke up. Lazily, he got himself to sit down, a hand rubbing his eyes while he turned his face towards the sofa bed. “Gen?” There was worry in the voice.

“Hmm,” Gen answered. Not because he could hear his name come out of Goku’s lips, but because he saw the obvious panic on the other man’s face. Goku directed his head towards the sound and quickly relaxed once he saw Gen. Gen pressed a key to pause his music. “Oh, there you are,” Goku smiled, “how was the sleep?” Gen reached out for his smoke, “Obviously _you_ slept better,” and he inhaled the nicotine. “Yeah I guess I am,” Goku chuckled, “Oh yeah, sorry I went ta develop the photos without ya. But they are dryin’ now, ya wanna see?”

Gen seemed like thinking for a second, and then he removed his enormous headphones. Minutes later they were in the darkroom, with Gen admiring the hung photos. “Too bad I couldn’t see the whole process,” Gen said. “Nah, ya can always come the next time I print ‘em,” Goku moved closer, but Gen shifted away. Goku was alert of the unexpected reaction, remembering how Gen did not budge when their bodies touched a few hours ago. But then he thought it might be caused by the incident, so he let it pass.

“‘m starvin’,” coming out from the darkroom Goku said, “‘m gonna cook dinner. Is ramen okay?”

“Whatever will do,” instead of the living room or the kitchen bar, Gen went to the studio room where the afternoon lighting was at its best. Goku popped his head inside too, admiring the glowing blond hair for a moment before heading to the kitchen.

Goku was pouring the ramen to the bowls when Gen finally settled himself at the kitchen bar. “What’s with the diadem, anyway?”

Goku was startled by the question. He slowly carried the bowls from the kitchen counter and found the piercing violet gaze following him closely. Goku decided to give the same answer he used to any other people with the question. “Umm... I just, I really like it. Looks cool, right?” Goku replied with a flimsy smile. He hoped he sounded convincing enough. While Goku searched for chopsticks in one of the drawers, Gen snorted, “Hmph, you like it enough to wear it everytime, even when you sleep? Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

Another minute and Goku plopped onto the barstool. He gave a pair of chopsticks to Gen and said with a more melancholic voice, “Well, I guess ya can say it’s like a memento to me, so yeah I wear it all the time.” Gen saw a hint of sadness in the overoptimistic man and it clenched his heart, “Parents?” Goku took a bottle from the end of the kitchen bar, “Nah, but they were already family to me.” Sincere smile decorated his face as he put down the bottle. _Mayonnaise._

Gen raised his eyebrows, “And who the hell eats ramen with mayonnaise?”

“Ya should try for yourself, it actually tasted better than it looks,” Goku offered the bottle.

Gen reluctantly squeezed some of the mayonnaise into his bowl and started eating. There was a flash from his eyes and soon after, he grabbed the bottle and squeezed another plentiful amount. Goku grinned. Gen looked at the idiotic grin and wanted to comment when flashes came into his mind.

_Two idiots sparring over a dumpling while he ate his ochazuke slowly. However, the noise became unbearable and he smacked both idiots with his harissen. “Quiet or I’ll kill you both!” The two idiots whimpered together, but he knew better that the sparring would start over soon._

“Gen? Ya alright?” Gen felt Goku shaking him and came back to his senses. “Yeah I’m good, just a bit dizzy,” he continued eating and soon Goku followed. Goku had an evident worried face over the newly formed frown on Gen’s face, but Gen was too engrossed to notice.

_What was that just now? But more than that, what is this lingering feeling of familiarity?_ Gen tried hard to remember once more, only to fail in his umpteenth attempt. In the end, he decided to repress it all, again.


	5. The Missing Piece

Gen had been staying for almost a week now. “Arghhh, I can’t get this part right,” Gen shuffled his hair in distress. Goku’s head popped up from the studio room, “Huh? What is it?”

Gen was surprised, as if he just realized that he was not in his own room. However, his face brightened just a little bit after seeing Goku. “You. Maybe you can help,” his hand motioned Goku to come. Goku put down a digital camera he had been carrying on the coffee table and plopped down beside Gen. After securing his headphones on Goku’s head, Gen played the unfinished song.

Light sounds tapped the back of Goku’s head and he closed his eyes. When the melody began, Goku found himself floating above the rippling deep waters. The music gradually became so immense and the feeling of longing became far greater than the music he found before. Gen made a smug smile looking at Goku’s expressive faces throughout the song, but at some point the cute face showed some signs of distress. Reaching the end of the music, Goku felt something else. It sounded like life itself emerged through the music and tried to reach out to him, and Goku found himself longing for a sound that would greet that life. But the music ended before he knew it. It was just, _incomplete._

Goku opened his eyes and stared blankly at… whatever he was staring.

“So?” the voice sounded much more impatient than Gen intended.

“I feel I wanna touch it, ta feel it with my hands,” Goku raised his right hand trying to grab whatever that was.

“Huh? Speak human, moron,” Gen was restless.

Goku turned to look at him, “I can feel the longin’, way stronger than the other one. An’ I feel life approachin’ through the music, but I feel somethin’s missin’.”

Gen nodded.

“Like... like.. I wanna raise my hand and touch it. That life. I wanna listen to _the sound of my hand_ in that music, maybe...” Goku suddenly grabbed his head with both hands, and it seemed like he was thinking so hard. “I dunno, I can’t really describe it, ya know,” he said at last.

Gen sighed. That was indeed what Gen had been thinking as well, but how to make it work in his music… _was_ the problem. He reached for his e-cigarette and inhaled deeply. He felt the nicotine surged through his lungs and it calmed his mind a bit. He could feel Goku staring at him and he tilted his head a bit. He wanted to glare the man off but instead he was drawn into the depth of wide golden eyes. Somehow, he felt the golden eyes calling to him, not out loud, not even with a speech.

Suddenly, a sound chimed in his head.

Gen leaned his head on the sofa bed and snickered. “Right,” he mumbled before he brought the e-cigarette to his mouth and inhaled once again. Goku was surprised by the sudden movement, “What is it?” Gen exhaled a lungful smoke, “I need to get back to my room.”

Not more than 10 minutes later, Gen searched for his keys in his pockets. It was the first time he went back to his room. In the end, he borrowed Goku’s clothes while he stayed. Goku followed behind as Gen entered the cramped apartment.

Goku’s jaw dropped by the sight of the room, almost full with musical equipment. Where the sofa bed was in his own room, there was a large desk with two big screens and a mixing panel, and also a very comfy luxurious chair, complete with its foot stand. Gen motioned Goku to stand in front of the desk and gave him a microphone, “Hold this for me.” Goku took the tool and while Gen went to a room, he let himself be amazed by the room once again. At the side of the room, there was a rather small rack full of books, and Goku’s gaze fell to the top row. The books had a distinct design and Goku noticed it was a series of... travelling books? _Journey to the center of our being,_ Goku once again made use of his superhuman eyesight. And his eyes widened by the name of the author. _Hakkai._

Gen came out with a golden bowl. He sat on the floor near Goku and set up what Goku recognized as a _singing bowl_ in front of him. It had been more than a hundred years since Goku last saw it. Without looking, Gen held out a hand and Goku instinctively gave the microphone. Gen set the microphone to a mic stand, right over the singing bowl. Then he went to grab his phone, long fingers working and soon he put the phone beside him.

Brushing aside his previous thoughts, Goku watched keenly as Gen closed his eyes and breathed a few times, deeper each time. At some point, he picked the mallet with one hand and held the singing bowl in his other one. He opened his eyes and struck the singing bowl. The sound was clear and deep and it resonated across the whole room. Another _gonnnggg_ and Goku felt his whole body resonated with the sound. Gen then proceed to move the mallet, gently circling the edge of the bowl over and over again. The reverberating sound was small at first, but gradually getting louder and at some point Goku’s body started vibrating with it. Goku felt amazing, relaxed yet aroused at the same time. A few more rounds and Gen abruptly struck an edge, holding the mallet now above his head. Goku shivered and he thought he just experienced eargasm. The accent lingered a few seconds before progressively disappeared.

After it became totally silent, Gen slowly lowered both his hands and put the instruments on the floor. He then picked up his phone and nodded, “That should do it.” Gen swiftly stood up and brought the singing bowl back to the room. 

Gen came out of the room, “C’mon let’s…” he lost his word when he found Goku, stunned with glittering eyes. Gen stepped closer and found tears forming in those eyes, “Hey, what’s wrong?” confused and _worry_ all over his face.

Goku snapped, “O-oh, it’s nothin’,” but tears started streaming then. Goku could not hide his face from the piercing violet gaze so he decided to just tell the truth, “I guess it’s just the memories.” Gen raised an eyebrow, “Memories?” Goku wiped away his tears, “Yeah, when ya play the singin’ bowl, my memories started to show up and suddenly I feel nostalgic and real sad.” Goku smiled a bitter smile and Gen had to bite his lip. He was heartbroken seeing the sincere lively man showed this side of him, and worse, he did not know how to react.

Anxious, Gen put both hands in his pockets, “Yeah it’s kinda amazing, to be able to listen to yourself when listening to a singing bowl.” At those words, Goku chuckled and the sincere smile came back. Gen’s tense shoulders relaxed at once. “Okay then... let’s go back now,” Gen walked towards the door before Goku grabbed his arm, “Wait, don’cha wanna grab some spare clothes?” Gen thought it was not a bad idea. He went back to his room to grab some.

Goku made his way towards the book rack, “Hey Gen, what’s these books, _Journey to the center of our being_ about?” He pulled one out and started flipping the pages. “Oh that? They’re poems. My friend wrote it when he travelled with his friends,” Gen came out with a gym bag. Goku reached the end of the book and found a painting of the author. He could not really make it, but somehow he recognized Hakkai in it. “They’re good. Just take some with you if you want,” Gen was now standing behind Goku and Goku could smell the lingering smoke from Gen’s breath. Heat suddenly found its way to Goku’s belly. Goku quickly took two more of the books, “O-okay, ‘ll take these,” he said before swallowing.

Three hours later, Gen was still sitting in front of his laptop, a scowl in place. His hand sought for the e-cigarette when he remembered the e-cigarette was being charged at the moment. Frustrated, Gen slammed his laptop and put down his headphones.

But now that he’s not wearing the headphones, he could hear Goku’s snore. It was small and steady, and Gen turned to find a sleeping face a little too close to his own face.

Gen watched Goku’s face for some time and the more he watched, the stronger he felt his feelings. _What is this feeling exactly?_ Gen could not fully comprehend what he felt. It’s a bit of familiarity, a bit of longing, a bit of calling to him, drawing him closer... and closer… and closer… and he pressed his lips on Goku’s forehead.

“Hn... San... zo...” Goku murmured.

Both of Gen’s eyes went wide. At just those words, he suddenly felt nauseous. Flashes started to fill his mind and his head hurt so badly, as if it was going to explode.

_The Smith and Wesson was once again in his hands, but now he could see himself clearly as the day. A blond with droopy violet eyes, scowl in place. There was also something else on his forehead, was it a red dot? “Sanzoooo!!” The boy with the yellow cape ran towards him. The idiotic wide grin decorated the round-faced brunette. Yes, a brunette with a golden diadem. The boy… was definitely Goku, only younger._

_“Sanzooo! I can smell meat buns over there! Let’s go an-” Whack! A harissen landed roughly on the brunette. “Ouch! Why’d ya hit me for!” Goku covered his head with his hands. “Shut up, you bottomless pit!” The voice was slightly deeper and way grumpier but obviously his own voice._

_A ride in a green jeep through the forest when suddenly there were many men with pointy ears, or youkais he finally remembered, showing up, “Hand over the sutra, Genjyo Sanzo!” Goku was the first to leap and smash those youkais with his NyoiBo. Clunking noise from chains soon followed, and soon he felt too much seeing the bright yellow light flashing again and again. He closed his eyes._

_When he opened them again, he was walking in a forest. His breaths were short and he knew that he was at a high altitude. He reached his destination and looked inside the prison cave. There_ it _was. The so-called monster. Golden diadem rested on brown long hair, who was looking at him like an idiot with those wide shining golden eyes. He extended his hand and when it made contact with its hand, the prison crumbled._

Gen opened his eyes, sweat dripping from his chin. He rubbed his throbbing temples, trying hard to slow down the overflowing memories.

“Gen? What’s wrong?” Goku had leaned his upper body on his elbows and looked at Gen worriedly. Gen, who had remembered everything, could not hold himself from blushing. Luckily the universe was at Gen’s side, the overly dim light hindered Goku to see the pink colors in his cheeks. Gen tried to process what was happening, but all he could muster was that he was too close to his most trusted person, who was also _his_ lover, and _his..._ sun. And that his lover had grown to be a still healthy and now wealthy man with a stable job. And remarkably sexy too, he noted while seeing the perfect muscled body above the loose t-shirt.

_Eager mouth caught his, tasted tart of cheese and strawberries from their dessert. Only these flavors tasted much more delicious on the coarse tongue which was invading his mouth. One of his hands brought the brunette even closer to his hungry mouth while the other slowly went down to-_

“Gen?” Goku’s distressed voice brought Gen back to the present.

Gen shook his head. He was overwhelmed with all this and he still had to finish the darned music. After a few deep breaths, Gen decided that he would figure things out slowly and keep the discovery to himself until the time comes. “I’m fine. Maybe I just need some water.”

“Uh... okay. I’ll go get some for ya,” Goku got up from the sofa bed and went to the kitchen. Gen’s gaze followed Goku quietly, as he did a couple of times before. But Goku, with his overly sharp senses, felt a difference in the treatment. Even though the change was not completely unpleasant, Goku was rather worried. He knew something had changed.


	6. The Finale

Gen clicked the render button and closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling deeply. The song was finally finished.

Slowly, he removed his headphones and that’s when he heard the sizzling sound from the kitchen. Along with the out-of-tune humming. He would have minded the faulty tone a few days ago—all the more with his sensitive musician ears, but not anymore, not after accepting that the awful same voice had both annoyed and soothed him in his previous life.

Yes, Gen had sorted out his mind in the last few days. He completely accepted the fact that he _was_ a reincarnation of _the 31st of China, Genjyo Sanzo,_ he recited in his mind. It totally made sense, Gen decided. Things that had happened in his current life mostly had strong connections to his previous life. Why his parents had named him Shan Genjo, why he was drawn to the name Goku so much, why he was always attracted to Buddhist teachings—and not just because his family were Buddhists, why he was haunted by the dreams since little, why he always felt something’s missing from his life. Gen could now see the red string connecting the puzzle pieces of his life.

Gen exhaled a deep breath. Not bothered by his work anymore, Gen observed the messy state of the apartment he had been living for almost two weeks. Everything that Goku had was technically stored in the living room, from two rattan baskets full of clothes, to the rows of racks full of frames, albums, boxes, and many other things. He began to wonder how long Goku had been a photographer. Camera was invented not long ago, so probably a few dozens of years? But then, what did he do before that? Where had he been living in those hundreds of years? Who had he met before? Did he _probably_ have _lovers_? Gen felt a bit nauseous thinking about Goku sleeping with another person, even though he knew it was truly selfish if he wanted Goku to abstain for the extremely long time.

His gaze suddenly landed on three sticking tied scrolls on the very top of one of the racks. The scrolls looked so old and Gen guessed it must be several hundreds years old. He stood up and stretched his hand as high as he could, revealing his built abs and the very tantalizing Apollo's belt. Goku, who noticed the movements and turned his head towards him, stunned at the sight. He suddenly felt incredibly hungry, and not for the dumplings he was frying at that moment. When Gen loosened his body and turned his face towards the kitchen, Goku quickly turned his head to his cooking. Gen smirked.

Casually, Gen walked towards the racks. On the way, he came across the bar table and saw the printed photos. And there were three newly _framed_ ones.

Him playing the harmonica.

Him... sleeping? _When did he take this?_ Gen raised an eyebrow.

Him smoking in front of the laptop, which caught his eyes because it was actually really good and Gen really liked it. “Hey, do you have the digital version of these photos?” he asked. A few seconds passed before Goku answered, “Oh ya mean your photos? Of course, I store all photos digitally. Don’t wanna lose anything.” Gen nodded.

He placed the photos back, headed to the rack for his initial intention, and took the scrolls gently. He untied the first scroll. It was an ink painting. Of meat buns. _How expected_ , Gen snorted. He untied the second scroll. Another ink painting of… Sanzo-ikkou. He was taken aback with the resemblance to the real thing. Himself, as Sanzo, wore the formal attire of a Sanzo, even though there were only scribbles on the sutra. Gojyo and Hakkai, he recalled the names finally, were the same people he saw in his dreams and flashes. His heart skipped a beat finding the sheer resemblance of the two with his closest friends. A red haired and brunette, even though the red haired that he knew had short hair. And somehow he also found his white haired friend oddly similar to the dragon in the painting. Hakuryuu, he managed to recall the name. He felt he had too much information coming into his head, and he rubbed his forehead before placing the fragile paper on the bar table.

He took the last scroll and untied it slowly. The last ink painting took his breath away. _He_ was again wearing the formal Sanzo attire, now complete with the crown. Both of his eyes closed and a hand was placed in front of his chest, beads dangling between his thumb and his palm. It was a painting of _him chanting the sutra_. He admitted, even only to himself, that Goku was once a very good painter. The details of the painting made him realize that at some point in Goku’s life, and most probably until now, his monkey still remembered him as clear as the blue sky. And one thing that Gen could feel from the painting was, _longingness_. The same feeling he felt when he had composed some of his music. Or when he thought about his business name and decided to use the name _Goku_.

Goku stormed from the kitchen, “Gen, dinner’s rea-” his words stopped when he saw the old painting in Gen’s hands. “Ah… that’s…”

“Fuckingly similar to me,” Gen tried to be as casual as he could.

“Um, y-yeah, it surely is,” Goku answered with a shaky voice.

“When did you paint this?” Gen asked.

Goku scratched the back of his head, “Uh-oh.. I-I actually bought that, I forgot where, though...” Gen decided that Goku was really not a good liar at all. He gently placed the old paper along with the others on the bar table and turned to get closer to Goku until their faces were only inches away, violet eyes penetrated deep into golden ones.

“And who the fuck else painted me like that except you, monkey?” His voice was deep and unexpectedly _hoarse_.

Goku’s eyes went wide, stunned at the remark. Before he could begin to think again, one of Gen’s hands slid behind Goku’s neck, bringing the face closer and covering the lips with his own.

In his trance, Goku could not think or feel anything besides the warm soft lips. Until he felt the coarse tongue touching his lips, asking for more. Suddenly, all the feelings that had built up inside Goku exploded, the desire, the thirst, the yearning for his sun. Goku parted his lips and let the tongue slide while he roamed the taller man’s mouth, savoring the remnants of tobacco and unexpected berry fruit taste left by the e-cigarette.

Goku raised his hands to touch the pale cheek, felt thin hands wrapping his back, and suddenly Goku’s eyes started to get wet. Realizing the odd dampness, Gen pulled himself and saw tears flowing from the blossoming face, “Why the hell are you crying?” But Goku was _smiling_ widely as he shed his happy tears, “Nah, it’s just _*hic*_ that, after _*hic*_ all this years, _*hic*_ I- _*hic*_ I-,” and tears streamed heavier over his cheeks. “Stupid,” Gen pressed his lips gently over the dampness of Goku’s face.

Not being able to find his voice, Goku pulled Gen’s head and kissed him again. Gen parted his lips, deepening the kiss. Soft moans escaped the shorter man, along with the sobs. “Goku,” Gen pecked Goku’s lower lip, “sorry I made you wait for so long,” said between soft kisses as he trailed down Goku’s neck. Goku’s moan answered him and Gen led them towards the sofa bed.

*

*

After a passionate love making, Goku curved his body and rested his head on the taller man’s shoulder. Gen’s hand found its way below Goku’s head and his fingers trailed the spine of Goku’s back. “Hey, Gen…”

“Hm?”

“How did ya find out? Was it ‘cos of the paintin’?”

Gen was silent for a moment, “No. I’ve had dreams,” he answered slowly, “Me shooting and us fighting the youkais. It’s just that I can’t recognize any of us, including myself. The only clear thing is your stupid smile.”

Goku blushed at what he perceived as compliment, but quickly disappeared once he heard Gen’s sigh.

“I couldn’t fucking remember you,” Gen regretted, “until you said ‘Sanzo’ in your stupid sleep.”

Gen made an effort to tilt his head and stare at Goku’s eyes, “You dream about me a fucking lot, don’t you?”

“Can’t help it,” Goku returned the gaze, “but the more so after I found ya. Ya don’t know how it’s like lookin’ at your photos on Instagram the first time.” He hid his face from the violet gaze and his hands caressed Gen’s chest, “You’re still so damn sexy.”

Gen groaned at the touch, but Goku’s stomach unexpectedly growled louder. Goku abruptly stopped his movements and Gen could clearly see the unseen blush, obviously ashamed of the body’s unchanging need even after such a long time living. This was really _his_ Goku. Gen smirked.

“Still a bottomless pit, I see,” Gen urged his body to stand up, and Goku soon followed.

While they ate dinner, Gen told Goku about his three friends who he thought might be the reincarnation of the rest of the group. Goku practically bounced from his seat and begged Gen to introduce them someday.

Afterwards, at some point in the dinner when they stopped chatting and started finishing the meal, Goku felt his heart at peace. For the first time in centuries, he would have a _real_ company again. Sneaking a peek at the blond man beside him, Goku just knew his life would be different from now on.

* * *

EPILOGUE

Two large carrier bags stood beside Goku’s sofa bed, along with a Fender guitar case. Gen told Goku that he would definitely get lots of inspiration from their awaiting journey and he would not allow the chance of not making music. The least he could do is record the foundation with his guitar.

It was before 8 in the morning, and Goku was currently sitting with his own backpack full of photography tools on the sofa bed, waiting for Gen to finish his bath. They planned to eat breakfast before going to the airport to travel to Indonesia, where their three friends await them for a journey God knows how long would end. After his final check, Goku zipped the backpack and put it beside him.

On the coffee table, Goku’s smartphone blinked. A notification from a YouTube channel he’s subscribing released a new video. “ _Even if you don’t remember, I’m sure we’ll meet again_ ” by Sanzo Music Production. He clicked the channel and found the photo of Gen in front of the laptop, e-cigarette in hand. Goku grinned, the photo was a masterpiece indeed. He put on Gen’s enormous headphones, and after connecting it with his phone, he clicked the newest video and closed his eyes. It was still the same song that he heard days ago. Approaching the end of the song, he heard the sound of the singing bowl. It was mystical, the sound was reaching out from the audience’s perspective, as if responding to the whole song. A peaceful smile formed in his face.

After the song ended, he opened his eyes, finding Gen’s gaze from the front of the bathroom, topless and still damp hair. _So how was the song?_ reached Goku without him really saying it out loud.

“Yep it was complete,” Goku put down the headphones, a peaceful smile turned into a grin.

Gen walked over and leaned over Goku, “ _You_ made it complete,” he brushed Goku’s lips with his own. “And I’m pretty sure those bastards would be thrilled to see you.”

“Guess we’ll _all_ be complete once again,” Goku said.

Gen’s mind wandered for a moment to the harissen he just purchased.

_Indeed._ And he captured Goku’s mouth with his.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading so far. I really hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  
> Comments and criticism are very welcomed!


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